Question: Why do expanders have to be used when breast are removed and the pocket is empty and ready to be filled with an implant?

Answer: It is not always necessary to place expanders at the time of mastectomies, but in many situations, it is a safer choice than immediately putting in an implant. Even if the breast surgeon leaves the nipples and removes no skin at all, the skin is not always healthy, as the blood flow is invariably at least somewhat compromised after mastectomy. Placing an implant under very poorly perfused skin would put additional pressure on the skin from within, and quite possibly cause the skin to die that otherwise would have lived. With an expander, we have the option of placing no fill at all at the initial surgery, thus minimizing additional pressure on the skin. In actual practice, sometimes the skin’s blood supply is so poor we don’t even put in an expander right away, but rather return to the operating room several weeks or months later to begin reconstruction.

Having said the above, I do agree it is nice if the final implant can be placed under healthy skin flaps immediately. However, it should only be done under ideal circumstances.

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Question: I had reconstruction about 6 years ago after a double mastectomy. I had several surgeries for revisions. I had an SGAP on my right and stacked DIEP on left. Everything was fine until a month and a half ago when I was hit by a driver who ran a stop sign and t-boned me. My car was totalled. I had an impact on my right breast from the steering wheel and the airbags. For the past two months, I have had a large knot on my right breast. This is the SGAP one. It is painful and the knot is the same size. Could there be long-term damage to the reconstructed breast from the accident?

Answer: If you are still having problems, you should see a plastic surgeon, and likely he or she will order some type of imaging (CT scan or MRI) to assess the situation. It is certainly possible that the flap could be damaged, or even other structures, such as your pectoralis muscle. While it might or might not be possible to do anything to improve any damage, I do recommend that you see someone to have it investigated.

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Question: I’ve had my breast tissues removed and I now have implants. They are under my muscles, too large and very uncomfortable. Is there anything you can do to fix this and make a smaller implant? I am very unhappy with the way my breasts look, This is contributing to already very low self-esteem issues. Can you help me? What are my options?

Answer: There is an excellent chance that we can help you. The country is currently undergoing a paradigm shift in implant-based breast reconstruction, with more and more surgeons placing the implants in front of the muscle, rather than behind. This allows for numerous potential advantages, and few disadvantages. We have been converting patients with unsatisfactory sub-muscular reconstructions to reconstructions in front of the muscle for a few years, with generally good-to-excellent results.

Another option is to remove your implants and re-build your breasts only with your own natural tissue, usually from tummy or buttocks. This is a larger operation than implant reconstruction but obviously results in an even more natural result.

I would be happy to discuss your situation further with you by phone, if you wish, or see you in my office when convenient.

Thanks for your question.

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In many cases, expansion can be achieved, and the permanent implant placed, in 2-3 months (more commonly 3).

In other cases, expansion may take longer, or sometimes other factors such as radiation may cause delays in removing the expander and placing the permanent implant. Whenever possible, however, expansion should be completed before the beginning of radiation, because the expansion of radiated skin ranges from difficult to impossible.

I do not think that having expanders in for long periods is likely to cause any lasting problem, although the chance of them deflating goes up. I met a patient recently who, for various reasons, had had an expander placed by another surgeon in place for 15 years. She appeared none the worse for it, we placed a permanent implant, and she is doing well.

Hope this helps, I’d be happy to chat with you if you wish.

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Question: Do you perform the DIEP free flap procedure without cutting or harvesting any muscle tissue? How many of these are performed by the physicians per year? Do you accept the BCBS reimbursement rates for this procedure?

Answer:

Thanks for your inquiry.

My partner and I are both trained directly by Dr. Robert Allen, the inventor of the DIEP (and sGAP, iGAP, PAP, etc.). He still drops by and operates with us occasionally. We will NEVER take any muscle tissue. However, with rare exceptions (dictated only by individual anatomy), it is impossible to harvest a DIEP without temporarily dividing part of the rectus abdominus muscle (although this almost never results in any functional impairment). If you have read or heard otherwise, that source is simply incorrect. I would be happy to discuss this with anyone who feels otherwise.

We currently perform (150 – 170) perforator flaps for breast reconstruction each year. We have performed a total of about 1700 flaps, of which about 1400 are DIEPs, about 300 are GAPs, and a few are PAPs, tDAPs, etc. Our DIEP survival rate when last calculated was 99.08%, our sGAP survival rate 95.7%. I would not be surprised if these were the best flap survival statistics in the world, but of course I can’t be sure, because we don’t know the details of other groups’ statistics.

We accept insurance as full payment from all carriers doing business in SC, and we are usually “in network by proxy” (or something like that) with all other carriers in the US.

We happily accept patients who have been operated on unsuccessfully by other physicians, no matter how many times, and no matter how bad the situation may seem.

I would be happy to discuss the particulars of your situation with you by phone or in person at any time.

Thanks again for your question, and have a great weekend!

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Question: I have started my reconstruction, but had to have one side removed and can’t start on that side for 6 more months. My one side has 80 ml saline in it. What are my best options?

Answer #1: Can you tell me why you had to have one side removed?

Richard M. Kline, Jr., MD

Answer from the patient:It started with a blood clot and just kept getting infecting. So my surgeon removed it so I could start my chemo and to get the infection cleared up, which it has cleared up completely. I have started my chemo, which I have 4 to 5 treatments. Then after 6 months from have inflated removed I can start the reconstruction procedure.

Answer #2:Sorry you’re having trouble. I think your surgeon was wise to remove the expander, you certainly don’t want to delay chemo.

If you weren’t radiated, it may be reasonable to try another expander after finishing chemo. I think the chances of it working may be less than usual since you’ve had trouble before, but nonetheless, it may work next time.

If you would like to forego expanders/implants and have reconstruction with your own tissue, the chance of getting an infection will be much less, and the quality of the reconstructed breasts will be much more natural. The surgery involved is larger, and it’s not for everyone, but once you are done there is essentially nothing to ever go wrong later. Previous unsuccessful reconstruction attempts with implants generally don’t affect our ability to reconstruct you with your own tissue, so if you want to try implants again after chemo, the natural tissue option will still potentially be there if implants don’t work again.

I would be happy to chat with you more about your situation at any time if you wish.

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In many cases, expansion can be achieved, and the permanent implant placed, in 2-3 months (more commonly 3).

In other cases, expansion may take longer, or sometimes other factors such as radiation may cause delays in removing the expander and placing the permanent implant. Whenever possible, however, expansion should be completed before the beginning of radiation, because the expansion of radiated skin ranges from difficult to impossible.

I do not think that having expanders in for long periods is likely to cause any lasting problem, although the chance of them deflating goes up. I met a patient recently who, for various reasons, had had an expander placed by another surgeon in place for 15 years. She appeared none the worse for it, we placed a permanent implant, and she is doing well.

Hope this helps, I’d be happy to chat with you if you wish.

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Question: I had my first mastectomy in 1991 with a tram flap reconstruction. My second mastectomy was in 2004 with an s-gap reconstruction. In the last few years, my breasts have become increasingly uneven and have shifted on my chest. Is there something I can do to my reconstructed breasts to regain some sort of symmetry?

Answer: Without knowing any more specifics of your situation, I can state in general terms that asymmetry after reconstruction is very, very common and that there are a host of techniques which we routinely use to minimize asymmetry as much as possible. Some of these techniques are fat grafting, reduction, contour alteration, and position changing. We have currently performed almost 1700 perforator flap reconstructions, and we likely have significant experience dealing with situations very similar to yours. I would be happy to see you in consultation any time or chat on the phone if you wish.

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Question: I had a bilateral mastectomy with reconstruction and I am terribly dissatisfied with my care so far. 11 Months later, the expanders are still painful. I will be asking to have them removed this week.

I have 2 questions for you. After I have the expanders removed would I still be a candidate for the DIEP flap? I am still going to chemo (Herceptin) which will run until the end of November, provided there are no more setbacks. My second question is, do you accept VA insurance? One form of payment is through the VA another is Veteran’s Choice. I am not sure which would cover outside care. I look forward to your response.

Answer: I’m sorry you have had so much trouble, but there is a very good chance that we can help you.

Your previous unfortunate experience with expanders does not in any way decrease our ability to successfully reconstruct you with DIEP flaps. The blood vessels which we use to vascularize your flaps are well below the area where tissue expanders are placed, and we have successfully reconstructed literally hundreds of patients in your situation. One potential advantage to having the expanders removed sooner rather than later is that we get an MRI angiogram on all patients who are scheduled for perforator flap breast reconstruction, and most breast tissue expanders are not MRI-compatible. If they use a little magnet to find the port before they fill your expanders, then you can’t get an MRI with those expanders in place.

We have worked with the VA many times in the past, and Gail, our insurance expert, will contact you to investigate your situation further.

Thank you very much for your inquiry, and I look forward to meeting you.

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Question: I have pain on the side of my breast where an implant was attached at reconstruction surgery in 1987. It has always hurt but recently has become much worse. Inflammation increases with sinus and allergy problems.

The implants are still soft so my recent visit to a plastic surgeon was uneventful. As I am 75 years old, they would not remove them. MRIs have shown they are not leaking. The pain keeps me on edge thinking something is very wrong. What are my options?

Answer: I’m sorry you are having problems so long after your surgery.

I don’t think you necessarily have to just accept your situation. You can have very bad, and painful scarring internally, especially with old implants, even if they are not ruptured. Additionally, if you are otherwise healthy, there is no reason you couldn’t have them removed, even at 75. I’m not saying that this would solve your problems (although it may), but don’t discount the option just because of your age. For what it’s worth, we have actually done DIEP flaps successfully on patients your age, and that is a much larger procedure than removing implants.

I would be happy to speak with you and discuss your situation further if you wish.

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